It seems pop punk is here to stay

Pop punk, with its catchy one-liners and realistic attitude, has been a genre that most people thought would die out with the breakup of pop-punk legends blink-182 in 2005. The band has been back together since 2009, and many smaller bands have been busy keeping the pop-punk scene alive.

The past year has seen a large progression for the genre, and the next month is full of new albums and shows.

Coming off of a long summer on the Vans Warped Tour, Set Your Goals and the Wonder Years are coming back to Buffalo on Oct. 25 for a show at the Town Ballroom, 681 Main St., with pop-punk heroes New Found Glory, Man Overboard and This Time Next Year. The show's name is the Pop Punk's Not Dead Tour. The title is a strong testament to how resilient the genre is and what it stands for. Set Your Goals and the Wonder Years both put out strong records in June, and New Found Glory has a record coming out Tuesday. Also, This Time Next Year and Man Overboard had new albums hit the shelves earlier this week.

Another show that is coming to Buffalo is the Polar Bear Club/Balance and Composure show on Oct. 15 at Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. The headliner, Polar Bear Club, and guests on the tour, Such Gold, both hail from our neighbor down the I-90, Rochester. Such Gold is coming back after playing Sugar City in late summer, and the band always puts on an amazing show. Polar Bear Club just came out with a new album Sept. 13.

"The best part of playing a show is watching people get into your music," said Andrew Stark, the drummer for local bands Malfunction and Better Times. "Or just the number of people who stay in the room to check out your band, even if they've never heard you before."

Megan Loira, a pop punk fanatic, says, "It's a lot more realistic and relatable than all the songs on the radio. It's so much more than that, it actually has meaning."

Pop punk is more than a genre. It's a statement and a state of mind. Whether a person is a concertgoer or a band member, the shows seem to mean the world to them. Pop punk's popularity continues to grow as there are more shows, new releases and even more bands embracing the genre.